Teachers were not universally held in high esteem during the last quarter of the nineteenth century. As one governor of South Carolina asked during this time in an address to the legislature, "Who are the teachers of our free schools? Are they men to whom we can commit with confidence the great business of education?" He then answered, claiming they were "grossly incompetent, but with the poor pay allowed them, we cannot reasonably calculate upon a better state of things." The status of teachers varied from state to state, but their professional status was suppressed because of poor pay in all areas of the United States. Salaries even in top school districts such as Bridgeport, Connecticut, in the late 1870s were $1,800 for male principals and $700 for the rare female teachers who served as principals.

Gender Gaps.

The average male teacher in the United...